Sisters Who Turned their Passion for Art into their Livelihood

For Caryne Sanchez Moros and Tibisay Sanchez Moros, art has always been a part of how they see the world. The twin sisters shared a love for art from the beginning, right from elementary art class projects to the workshops and classes that occupied their afterschool hours, free-time and school breaks. Even though both were encouraged to pursue their talents, neither of the sisters pursued those interests into higher education. Instead, Caryne and Tibisay earned a degree in Criminalistics and Criminal Science. Yet, their passion for art lingered through those years.

The sisters’ shared passion gave them a unique perspective that led to the creation of Lovebox, a company that creates customized decorations and personalized gifts. Caryne and Tibisay knew their talent made them unique in their ability to create one-of-a-kind, handmade decorations and arrangements that could spur joy and wonder in others, and lend a little bit of magic to special occasions.

Thus, an idea was formed, but the sisters weren’t sure where to start. One of the biggest challenges for them was selecting and targeting a customer base. In 2018, the sisters turned to Centro for help to tackle these early challenges and propel their business from concept to execution. Through the Centro Entrepreneurship Program, they gained meaningful insights into the fundamentals of business financials, marketing, customer acquisition, and business plan development. Centro’s Business Planning app was instrumental in helping conceptualize and operationalize their life-long passion of owning a business that was going to bring joy to others.

Merging their talent and passion with what they learned through Centro, Caryne and Tibisay launched Lovebox and have built a growing client base. “It is fun because we never thought about a business that has to do with art,” say the sisters. Lovebox has steadily grown, with requests for the Moros’ products and services arriving almost daily. The growth is happening and luckily the twins were ready. When event decorations are ordered, one to two part-time employees are brought in to help with the delivery and installation. The twins will continue to invest in equipment to grow Lovebox’s ability to meet the needs of their growing customer base. And they continue to use what they’ve learned from the Centro Entrepreneurship Program to enhance their marketing efforts and introduce themselves to even more potential customers. “At this time we have customers from different cities in the Bay area and several people from other cities across the country write to us daily.”

Fortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has not severely impacted the twin’s business, but effects are still felt: “Since Covid-19 there are no parties or crowds, therefore our decoration products with balloons are not being sold right now, but we have active custom arrangements which is what has been selling and people keep asking.” Lovebox has been able to pivot by focusing on creating products that meet the moment, reducing variety and also expanding delivery and instore pick-up options that are safe for both them and their customers. “Simply by giving the customer different delivery options, there are people who are afraid of contact, so we always ask the client how they would like the product to be delivered.”

“Entrepreneurship is dedication, perseverance, learning, searching, failure and effort until your dreams come true,” say the sisters. Join us in congratulating Caryne and Tibisay for bringing a unique artistic perspective to make special moments even more so. Follow @lovebox8 on Instagram or @loveboxmoros on Facebook and give them a look for the next celebration or special gift you want to make all the more memorable.